


A Lovely Night

by Lizzy_Writes



Category: Z Nation (TV)
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Oh my god Lizzy’s capable of writing fluff???, Pre-Relationship, Season/Series 03, and i ship them, i love them, its almost all fluff, lots of fluff, my children
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-11
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-10-08 04:46:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17379848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lizzy_Writes/pseuds/Lizzy_Writes
Summary: It wasn’t exactly love at first sight for Red and 10k, but the night before the Mercy Labs fight against The Man may have been lovely enough to change their minds.(Takes place during the “No Mercy” flashback movie/episode)





	A Lovely Night

**Author's Note:**

> I got a request to write a 10k/Red fic based on the song “A Lovely Night” from La La Land, so here’s my take on that! La La Land but make it the apocalypse. 
> 
> Enjoy the fluff! Because the next fic will probably be more angsty...
> 
> Until the next fic!
> 
> -Lizzy

He was pacing near the outside of fence, occasionally stopping to take in the view of the purple sunset over the vast field. It was beautiful, even if it was the middle of the apocalypse and the camp was preparing for war to come in the morning.  
He was lost in thought as he stared out at horizon when Red walked up next to him. He jumped slightly when he noticed her, startled by her sudden appearance, and she smirked slightly, “I didn’t think you were the easily startled type.”

“What are you doing here,” asked 10k, ignoring the girl’s quip. 

“Securing the perimeter; same as you.”

“I’ve got it under control; I don’t need your help.”

“Good. Because I’m not offering it. I’m just not leaving the safety of my brother up to you alone.”

10k nodded his understanding and the two fell into silence for a minute before the boy spoke, “It’s a nice night.”

“Yeah. A lot of people would probably think it was romantic... you know, minus the zombies.”

“Too bad it’s being wasted on us.”

She glanced at him questioningly, “What do you mean?”

“Well I’m not exactly feeling romantic.”

“Does that mean you can’t enjoy the view? Just because you don’t wanna kiss me?” 

“No, but it’d be nicer for people who were... you know... —And there’s not exactly a chance of us getting together.”

“Yeah,” Red replied as she started to walk away from the young man, “That’s a good point.”

“Hey, where are you going?” 10k asked as he followed after her. 

“We’re supposed to be securing the perimeter. Not watching the sunset.”

“Well I’m not going to let you go alone.”

“Why’s that?”

“I’ve got a gun. You’ve got...that,” he pointed at her makeshift weapon. “They have to get pretty close to you before you can use that on them.”

“I’ve survived this long without your help. ...And if this is your way of flirting, you’re failing miserably, because frankly, I feel nothing towards you.”

“Nothing, huh?” There was a slightly playful smirk on his lips and Red glared at him. 

“Or maybe less than nothing — I haven’t decided. The only reason I haven’t mercied you yet is because my brother likes you.”

“Well that’s good to know. I guess I’d better stay on your brother’s good side, then.”

“That would be the smart thing to do.”

They walked in silence for a couple minutes after that, a small smile on 10k’s face that he couldn’t seem to get rid of, which irritated Red slightly, though she wouldn’t say anything about it. 

“Stop doing that,” Red said after a little while of walking silently. 

“Doing what?”

“Kicking the dirt up when you walk.”

“You’re afraid of getting dirty in the apocalypse?”

She smacked him on the arm, a little harder than she meant to, and he laughed as he rubbed the spot she’d hit. 

Red quickened her pace a little after that so that she was a few feet in front of him, and 10k shook his head and smiled slightly to himself. ...Until a cloud of dirt suddenly rose up in his face, assaulting his senses. He stopped walking for a moment, covering his mouth and nose with his hand to try and stop inhaling any more of it. 

“What was that for?!” he asked with a slight cough when the dust had cleared. 

Red was facing him now, laughing a little. “What; are you afraid of getting dirty in the apocalypse?”

He narrowed his eyes at her, which only seemed to amuse her more. “No, but I’d like to be able to breathe.”

“Come on, Ten Thousand,” she said, putting emphasis on his name. She grabbed his arm and began walking again. 

“Hey, my name isn’t any weirder than yours.”

“Maybe not, but—“ she stopped suddenly when she heard a growl from not too far behind them. They both turned around at the ready to find three Zs headed their way. 

10k pulled his gun off his shoulder and pointed it at one of the zombies but Red stopped him, placing a hand on his arm and saying in a quiet voice, “Don’t. If you shoot, the noise will attract more of them. I’ve got this.”  
He hesitated for a moment but nodded, watching the young woman run toward the Zs, her weapon raised above her head. 

She made quick work of the first two — it was impressive, 10k had to admit — but the last one caught her off guard. She held it off, its face only a few inches away from her own, but couldn’t manage to get the upper hand. 

“Hang on!” said 10k running to her side. He smacked the butt of his gun as hard as he could against the zombie’s head, and it fell backwards away from Red. The young woman got her bearings back almost the moment the Z was away from her and brought the sharp end of her weapon down on the Z’s head, slicing it nearly in half. 

The two stood quietly for a moment, Red panting a little as she caught her breath. “...Thanks.”

“Any time.” 

They exchanged a smile and began to walk again. “...We should head back,” said Red, and 10k nodded. 

It only took them several minutes to make it back to the front of the survivor camp, the two satisfied that they hadn’t found The Man or any of his assistants.  
Red pulled open the heavy gate and walked in with 10k close behind her. 

“I think we’re safe. ...At least until tomorrow,” she said, “I’m going to try and get some sleep — you probably should, too.”

“Yeah; probably.”

Red smiled slightly, in spite of herself. “Night,” she said, hesitating for a moment before leaning closer and giving him a quick peck on the cheek and then turning around and walking to her tent without another glance at the boy. 

10k placed a hand to his cheek where she’d kissed him and watched her go with an albeit confused smile. “Night...” he said, though it was so soft he couldn’t be sure she’d heard him. 

Maybe the night hadn’t been completely waisted on them after all, he thought as he turned and looked past the fence at the sky which was now dark and filled with stars... and maybe there was a chance of him and Red getting together. Stranger things had happened; the zombie apocalypse, for instance. 

He smiled to himself and began to make his way to the tent he and Doc were sharing, his hand still pressed against his cheek where Red had kissed him.


End file.
